Friday, March 25, 2005

Hypocrite of The Month

I'm starting a new feature here at What's In Scott's Head: Hypocrite of The Month. I'll spotlight right-wing politicians and/or pundits as they speak out of both sides of their mouth.

This month I'm combining two groups, but all of them are involved in the exploitation of Terri Schiavo: conservative pundits and conservative politicians.

First off are the arrogant, grandstanding Republicans of Congress. After years of showing no concern for Terri Schiavo, the Republicans have decided to do everything politically they claim to oppose in their effort to usurp the state of Florida while meddling in a private family matter. Remember the memorial service for Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone following his death in 2002? Conservatives suddenly were all outraged by an event they claimed was strictly for political purposes; an effort to exploit Paul Wellstone and his family.

And now we have the Republican Congress exploiting Terri Schiavo for political gain, while showing just how hypocritical they are. This is the same group that complained loudly to the media about liberal "activist" judges "legislating" from the bench. And now the Republicans want the same thing; they want judges to legislate from the bench, in their favor, rather than reviewing the merits of the case based on testimony and the facts of the case. Why else would President Bush and others say they were unhappy with the decisions made by the many judges who have recently reviewed the case, basically saying "this is not the outcome we wanted."

Even worse is what the Republicans have put Schiavo's parents through, giving Mary and Bob Schindler the false hope that their intervention would save their daughter's life.

What a spectacle. Sen. Bill Frist, a doctor, suggested he could diagnose Schiavo -- by watching video tapes of her. Yes, that's how modern medicine works, doctors look at video tapes instead of doing an actual examination of the patient.

Conservative pundits have also behaved despicably. True to form, they have taken what should have been a private family matter and turned it into a liberal vs. Conservative issue. "Why do liberals want Terri Schiavo to die," they ask, seeking to divide Americans politically by basically saying that when Schiavo dies, it will somehow be the fault of liberals.

These same pundits apparently had no opinion of Terri Schiavo prior to this last week, and no one wrote passionately in 2001 that Schiavo's life should be saved when her feeding tube was removed.

Republicans, apparently, are pro-life in certain situations, especially situations that result in political capital. They support the rights of states -- until a state does something they disagree with, and then they have to jump in and violate the 10th Amendment.

Check back next month to see who the hypocrite of the month is. It'll probably be Ann Coulter.